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There’s a lot of information on the web about using compost. Some of it is accurate; some is not. Even supposed gardening experts can be wrong about compost, especially if their personal experience is outdated, incomplete, or based on use of homemade or low quality compost and not high quality, commercial products. If you are a new compost user, here are some things to know:

Compost is a concentrate. Never use full strength. If preparing a mix for containers or bedding, use no more than 30 percent compost. If incorporating 2 inches into soil, till to a depth of 6-8 inches — no more than 1/3 of the total impacted layer.

One of the most common mistakes of a new compost user is over-watering. Compost will hold a lot of water. Turn off your timers. Water only when your turf and plants need it.

Do not heat treat or fumigate Harvest Blend Compost or compost amended soil. Unlike the home composting pile, attainment of high temperatures is inherent in the commercial composting process. Subjecting compost products to another round of high heat and/or fumigation will kill the microbial populations contributing to soil health, greatly diminishing the efficacy of the product.

Have a question? Ask a compost expert

TOP DRESS FOR SUCCESS

A lush green lawn requires healthy soil as its foundation, but it’s difficult to make changes to the soil once grass has been established. Most gardening recommendations include “working” organic matter into the soil through digging or tilling before planting, but this can’t be done once the grass has grown. So what’s a landscaper to do with an established lawn that’s in need of some serious help?

When done the right way, the technique of “top-dressing,” or adding a thin layer of compost over lawns, can improve the soil without harming the existing turf. Top-dressing gradually improves soil over time. As organic matter breaks down, it filters through the existing soil to improve texture and overall health.

By now you're aware that compost is organic matter, broken down through the action of aerobic microbes and the heat they generate to produce humus. The art and science of making compost for use as fertilizer has been around for centuries. Engel & Gray Regional Compost Facility has combined this art with today’s science, equipment, and proven methods to produce compost that can help solve many agricultural and waste management problems.

MORE OF A BAD THINGIn the 20th century, composting seemed to disappear as the use of chemical fertilizers increased. Growers thought the “New and Improved” chemical technology was the answer to increasing crop production. The use of chemical fertilizers has increased yields in many crops but their intense use creates crops that aren’t able to defend themselves against insects, microbial pathogens, and invasive weeds. To combat these problems, agriculture has increasingly developed and used insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. In the beginning, the chemicals protected the crops. Soon the crops became resistant, needing stronger, more toxic chemicals to do the same job as before. Only now, communities are in danger from more and more harmful chemicals entering the environment.

COMPOST MAKES A COMEBACK Compost is an alternative to the agricultural chemicals and fertilizers currently in use. Composting began a comeback toward the end of the last century with interest growing in recent years. Economic and environmental factors have started to change the way the world looks at crop production, the environmental concerns chemical agriculture raises, and the waste society produces. Utilizing compost means fewer chemicals are being put into the soil, while binding and degrading harmful chemicals already in the soil.

SO, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?Compost sounds like the perfect way to get off the “Chemical Merry-Go-Round”, doesn’t it? Most folks will say they believe in composting and all the environmental good it does, but is compost use a part of their normal gardening/landscaping routine? Is the general public aware of the many benefits of compost use? Does your gardener know where to get 3 yards of compost to amend compacted soil or top dress a lawn? This lack of knowledge is keeping nutrient rich compost from being put back into the ground to “Complete the Cycle”. All the recycling efforts go out the window if the final product has nowhere to go.

BE PART OF THE SOLUTIONWe can all make a difference. Instead of yard waste and food scraps going to waste in the landfill, we can put our valuable resources back to work – as lawn top dressing, soil amendments, in flower beds and also as an environmentally responsible solution to erosion control.

Harvest Blend Compost is dedicated to diverting valuable resources from local landfills; transforming them into nutrient rich compost for all your landscaping needs.